Question: "I thought it was really interesting in your FAQ section that there is a 'likelihood that a stuttering individual will take after who they communicate with, and show some signs of trying to speak like the fluent individual without realizing it. It's almost like a "halo effect" for stuttering individuals.' Does this mean stuttering indivduals pick up specific words as a way of (potentially) re-establishing authority or do they pick up specific patterns of speech?" — Kati Our response: Through personal observation, I believe that the "halo effect" occurs more through picking up specific patterns of speech. It goes hand in hand with the belief that fast-talking parents influence a child's speed of speech. A stuttering individual can "learn" to talk a certain way when around certain individuals (like their friends, for instance), and that can have a positive (or negative) impact on their speech, and could possibly make them temporarily more fluent.